The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Directed by Wallace Worsley

Film Review

Carl Laemmle's lavish 1923 production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, to this day, the most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's celebrated novel, and many would argue that it is by far the best. Universal Pictures had such confidence in the film that it was granted a whopping one and a quarter million dollar budget, most of which was swallowed up in an elaborate full-scale recreation of the lower portion of the titular cathedral.  The film proved to be every bit as successful as anticipated,  Grossing over three million dollars, it was one of Universal's biggest successes.  Significantly, it was the popularity of this film which encouraged the studio to make more movies featuring deformed monstrosities, leading to its long and highly profitable run of classic Gothic horror films in the 1930s.  Victor Hugo has a lot to answer for.

Today, Lon Chaney must appear an obvious choice for the part of the hunchback Quasimodo, but at the time this was not the case.  Chaney had not yet established himself as the man of a thousand faces and he was considered a straight character actor, although George Loane Tucker's The Miracle Man (1919) had shown what he could do with a bit of make-up.  The Hunchback of Notre Dame was to change the direction of Chaney's career massively, diverting him to the kind of roles that would earn him immortality, roles such as the vampire-like fiend that stalks Paris in The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

Quasimodo must have been a dream part for Chaney.  Not only did it allow him to create a distinctive, unforgettable screen persona through a combination of inventive make-up and expressive (some would say hammy) acting, but it also allowed him to put his acrobatic talents to good use.  His portrayal is a near-perfect actualisation of the tortured deformity in Hugo's novel - Quasimodo's horrific outward appearance belies a soul of exquisite beauty and sensitivity which no could ever appreciate, a mockery of mankind's propensity for judging only by what is on the surface. The pathos that Chaney brings to the part, particularly in his scenes with Emeralda, is genuine and heart-wrenching, and leaves you in no doubt that he was one of true greats of the silent era of cinema.

The film's epic visual impact (achieved through impressive art design and some highly ambitious crowd sequences) goes some way to make up for Wallace Worsley's unadventurous workmanlike direction.  The latter, together with some lacklustre performances, prevents the film from being an out-and-out masterpiece, but the essential humanity and poetry of Hugo's novel is retained (in spite of a few diversions) to give a film that is both spectacular and poignant. Also, thanks to lax censorship in Hollywood at the time, the film is surprisingly accurate in its grim depiction of life in the Middle Ages, even showing medieval torture in all its ugly brutality.

Now for the bad news.  In common with the majority of films made in the silent era, all of the original 33 mm prints of this film have long since been lost (either decomposed or destroyed).  Fortunately, Universal authorised the distribution of 16 mm prints of the film in the 1920s and 30s for home viewing, but these prints are all that remain.  To date, virtually all VHS and DVD issues of the film have been taken from these poor quality prints with no enhancement, and are hence virtually unwatchable.  In 2007, Image Entertainment issued a DVD release from a recently restored print; the picture quality is far from perfect but the sheer visual artistry of the film, bolstered by Chaney's tour de force performance, more than compensates for this, allowing us to enjoy a triumph of early silent cinema.

Film Synopsis

Paris in the 1480s.  From his vantage point atop Notre Dame Cathedral, a deformed hunchback named Quasimodo watches the poor people celebrate their annual Festival of Fools.   His eye is caught by the gypsy girl Esmeralda who dances for the pleasure of the crowds.   Esmeralda also draws the attention of Jehan, the wicked brother of Dom Claude Frollo, the cathedral's kindly priest.  Jehan coerces Quasimodo into kidnapping the gypsy girl, but the attempt is thwarted by Phoebus, a young guard captain to King Louis XI.  As the hunchback is taken away to be punished, Phoebus opens his heart to Esmeralda, not knowing that she has loved him for some time, with an ardent passion.  Esmeralda's guardian, the beggar king Clopin, is incensed when he learns of Phoebus's intentions to marry his adopted daughter.  Driven by his deadly hatred for all aristocrats, Clopin snatches Esmeralda from Phoebus and later stabs him.  The gypsy girl is immediately blamed for the attack on Phoebus and is sentenced to be hanged.   Remembering that Esmeralda brought him water when he was being tortured, Quasimodo comes to her rescue and takes her into the cathedral, where she is protected by the right of sanctuary.  Clopin raises an army amongst the Parisian underworld and prepares to storm the Cathedral to free his daughter, unaware of the lengths that Quasimodo will go to to protect the woman he has fallen in love with...